The Story of Nellie Lovett
by Nokros
Summary: Sweeney Todd fic: The life of Mrs. Lovett, starting from her marriage to Albert Lovett, and eventually ending at her death. Rated R for good reason first chapter is their wedding night, so I think you can imagine.
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters in Sweeney Todd. I do own the characters I make up for this story, and my plot. Once this story gets into the realm of the musical (as opposed to the pre-musical) the plot does not belong to me, but my embellishments do.

A/N: Warning: Sex. Not explicitly described, but there.

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It was a beautiful wedding, simple, but beautiful. Nellie wore flowers in her hair, and Albert's beard was trimmed and he was smiling. He was much older than her. She was barely eighteen, he well into his thirties, but he was gentle and had a good business. He was a butcher, so they'd never run out of food. He's make a good husband, and she would try to make a good wife.

After the congratulations and well wished, the newlyweds took a carriage to their home above Albert's shop on Fleet Street. True, there was space behind their shop to live, but Albert insisted on not renting out the top, because they wanted more space, and would need it, once their family started to expand. The shop, of course, was closed for the day, and Albert carried Nellie up the outdoor staircase into their bedroom. She laughed at the silliness of it all.

He laid her down on the bed, then proceeded to the dresser, shedding the burdensome jacket. Nellie just lay on the bed, reviewing the events of the day, smiling at the still tangible memories. How proud her mother looked, how much fun the children had, jumping around while their mothers told them to sit still. She smiled. She loved the children, no matter how much trouble they managed to get into. She couldn't wait to be a mother of her own; motherly instinct was bubbling inside of her, just waiting to come out.

Albert brought her out of the past as he smiled at her, taking off her veil. She smiled back as he brushed stray bits of hair out of her face. Slowly, he took of the other niceties of the day, her gloves, the small bit of jewelry, her shoes. Her reached up her legs for her stockings. Her dress was elaborately buttoned in the front, but he patiently unfastened all of them. He no longer looked at her face, but his hands, and what he was doing.

All that was left on Nellie were the flower petals remaining in her hair. He surveyed her, and she became suddenly nervous, as if she was scared that she would disappoint in her youth. Albert smiled, but somehow Nellie knew the smile was not for her, but for himself. Quickly shedding the rest of his attire, he climbed on the bed and started with a kiss on Nellie's neck.

Nellie, still slightly nervous, stayed still, watching Albert. All of his kisses were not for her, and as he worked his way inside, he was also inside himself, his smile inward. Nellie saw him in his own world of pleasure and closed her eyes, knowing it was not her place to interfere.

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A/N: Don't stone me, please. I was trying to think of a good place to start with the Life of Mrs. Lovett, and I found out by looking at the script that she was a widow. Her husdband died two years before Sweeney was sent away. It would have been probably right before he died that the Barker's moved in upstairs. I needed to find a way to make Mrs. Lovett unhappy with the relationship, but happy enough so that she still talks about him amiably after his death. Also, I wanted to show how Mrs. Lovett got to the cynical person she is in the show. It also didn't help that I was reading a very long discussion on the Sondheim forums on whether or not Sweeney and Mrs. Lovett were sleeping together (hey, it's incredibly relevent to the characterization of both characters.. Sweeney probably wouldn't, but there's a line in "By the Sea" suggesting they were). This chapter was written because how someone responds to sex is important to their character, no matter how much people condemn it, it's a vital part of marraige. Marraige used to not even be legal until it was consumated. So there.


	2. Chapter 2

A/N: I didn't write in the accents because it's extremely difficult for me to write in accents... but in case you're unfamiliar with Sweeney Todd, they're Cockney accents.

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Business was going well, Nellie supposed. Albert never talked to her much about business, but they ate well and had all they needed. That was all that mattered, she knew, but she couldn't shake off the childhood dreams she had. It was all Aunt Nettie's fault, really, when she used to take little Nellie to the sea. Ever since then, she'd dreamed of a beautiful house by the seaside, spending endless hours watching the sun set over the glistening water. Not to mention of course, the romance which would inevitably occur at a place as beautiful as the sea.

Of course, Nellie never thought of telling Albert any of this. He would think it childish; and, in truth, it was. These were dreams she had ever since she was little, so why couldn't she give them up? She was no longer a child, she was now in her twenties. She knew it was time for her to grow up.

It was almost time for the shop to close, Nellie judged, so she busied herself with setting the table for their meal. Nellie was getting quite used to recipies involving meat; tonight they were having a beef stew, with a few choice vegetables from the local market. She was proud of how she perfected this recipie into her own version of stewed perfection.

Sure enough, she heard Albert trudging up the stairs outside. She was used to his timing by now, and she was ladeling the stew into their bowls when he opened the door. Sniffing the air appreciatively, he smiled and sat down at his place.

They ate for a few minutes in silence, before Nellie ventured to break it. "How was business today?"

Albert didn't look up from his stew. "It went well," he commented between mouthfuls. "The price of meat is going up, though, I'm going to have to raise my prices soon."

Nellie nodded. The price of meat was always going up. That was all she heard lately. Albert finished up his stew and ate the last of the broth by wiping his bowl with a piece of bread. Looking down at her own bowl, Nellie saw that it was only half eaten. With a small sigh, she put her spoon down; she didn't have much of an appetite, anyway. Standing and stretching, Albert went and settled at his desk, pulling out his books to tally the day's earnings.

Turning away, Nellie gathered up their bowls. She knew she shouldn't say anything, that she should just leave it be. Maybe, she thought briefly, he wanted to surprise her, but... no. He wouldn't change after five years. All these foolish thoughts... but still, Nellie turned, watching Albert's back as he concentrated. She shouldn't interrupt him... he'd only get upset with her.

But...

"Albert?" Nellie choked out meekly, then turned away with a start, busying herself with clearing the table.

"Yes?" Albert grunted, though he barely pronounced it enough to call it a word. He didn't look up.

She couldn't back out, now, "You know, this Friday..." She hesitated.

Albert sighed and turned around in his chair, annoyed at her interruption. "What about it?"

She was right, he _was_ angry. She knew she shouldn't've... but he'd only get more annoyed if she didn't finish, so, "...it'll have been five years." Pause. "Since our wedding."

"What about it?"

Foolish little thing.

"Well, I just thought," she continued, knowing by now that her thoughts would never actualize, "that we could do something... to celebrate, just... a little walk by the river, or... something." She kept her head low, not looking at him.

"And when would we have time? I have a business to run. You have work here, if you would stop staring out the window to do it for once." Albert's voice only rose a fraction, but she could tell she had crossed the line. She bit her lip to keep herself from saying any more. She heard him turn back around. "Friday will be a work day like any other, no silly little strolls or anything like that."

Nellie finished clearing the table. She ventured a look back at Albert; he was back to work. She felt her eyes starting to burn, and quickly shut them tight to stop the threat of tears. Breathing deeply, she looked up, under control, and started to clean.


	3. Chapter 3

Nellie heard Albert coming up the stairs long before he entered the room. Sitting there, knitting methodically, she heard him slowly limp up. The swelling in his leg that had seemed like nothing only a year ago had grown to the point where he could barely walk unassisted. Not that he didn't try to act like everything was fine around Nellie. Oh, he tried to hide the fact that it was growing harder for him to stand every day by suddenly acting like he had a newfound fascination with tables and other objects he could lean on. Listening to him limp up, Nellie started another row on the scarf. Eyes kept down when she heard the door open, she pretended not to notice his difficulty in getting to his chair. She finished off the row, letting him catch his breath, before standing to get him his food.

"How was business today?" she asked nonchalantly as she brought him his dinner.

"Fine," he responded, almost like he expended all his energy walking up the stairs so he had none left for conversation.

Nellie waited. "And how is your leg?"

"Fine," he said again, but roughly, to let her know that she was treading ground she shouldn't cross. Nellie was quite aware.

"It took you five minutes to get up the stairs today."

"I had a rough day."

"It took you four and a half minutes yesterday."

"I shouldn't have to discuss this with you."

Nellie stopped, and took a breath. She wouldn't let him hurt himself for his pride. Not because she loved him - she didn't, but because she knew, for once in her life, that she was right. "Well, Albert, I'm sorry, but you do have to. Your leg has only gotten worse - it's foolish to make yourself walk up these stairs every day, when we can just move down to the pie shop."

"I've told you, there is not enough room down there."

Nellie scoffed. "Really? Not enough room for what? Our beautiful paintings, our books, our flowers?" She waved her arms at the bare walls and table around her. "I'm not the naive little girl you married twenty-two years ago, Albert. Do you think I can't see what's happening? Do you think I don't notice that my husband is growing weak? Do you think I don't realize that the business is--"

"What do you know about business?" interrupted Albert, angrily.

Nellie simmered. "A lot more than you think I do." She waited for a moment to see if Albert would respond. For once, he didn't. "We can rent out this room. It'll bring in some extra money."

Albert sat, stewing. Watching him closely, Nellie could see a look of frustrated hopelessness. If it had been two years ago, she would have never gotten away with this. She knew it. He knew it, too.

"Finish your dinner," she said.


End file.
